For the award-winning Carlsbad High School broadcast class, summer break this year meant another documentary.

The 16-student crew tackled the issue of immunizations in North County, an area with the second lowest compliance rate for vaccinations in the state of California.

"We are looking at why," said Camille Posard, who graduated in June from Carlsbad High and helped produce the documentary.

To understand the science behind vaccines ---- and why some parents shun them ---- the film crew interviewed professionals in the field of immunization including Dr. Mark Sawyer of Rady Children's Hospital and Dr. Eric Couchesne, director of UCSD's Autistic Center of Excellence.

"They are concerned that there is a perception that vaccinations cause autism when science has proved that it does not," said Doug Green, who teaches the class.

The students also interviewed a local mother who believes that her child developed autism from a whooping cough vaccination, and a parent who lost her child from a vaccine-preventable disease.

"The whole point (of each documentary) is to educate the public about something," said Brad Streicher, 12th-grade lead reporter. "Our goal with this film is to make sure we are educating people on the reality of vaccinations."

The San Diego Rotary Club, one of the class' main financial sponsors, originally presented the class with the topic of vaccinations.

The yet-untitled film, set to be completed at the end of the school year, will be distributed to rotary clubs across the country. Green also hopes that the film will run the film festival circuit.

The Carlsbad High School broadcast class is perhaps best known for its Holocaust documentary "We Must Remember," produced in 2009, which has won statewide and national accolades. The class' daily live broadcast, viewable at www.chstv.com, has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for four years running.

"I think the students see that film making is so powerful, because you have a potential to move people and affect change," said Green. "And I think that's really fantastic."